The social credit system, as a key component of the basic system of the market economy, is an important guarantee for maintaining the order of the capital market. Taking the listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2007 to 2022 as samples, this paper explores the impact of social credit system reform on audit pricing. The result finds that social credit system reform can significantly reduce audit pricing. Mechanism tests show that social credit system reform reduces audit pricing by lowering firms’ fraud risk, operational risk, and litigation risk. Further analysis shows that social credit system reform has a more significant effect on audit pricing. In addition, the impact of social credit system reform reduces audit pricing more significantly when firms have weaker internal governance and auditors with higher reputations. Social credit system reform significantly increases audit quality while reducing audit fees. This paper provides insights for improving social credit system construction and promoting high-quality development of economies.